Under the bed
by Marvelguy00
Summary: After another quarrel between Pearl and Amethyst something strange happens, something dark starts to lurk in Steven's bedroom, but it could just be his immagination...after all the monster under the bed doesn't exist right?...Right?
1. Chapter 1: Love and Hate

**CHAPTER 1: LOVE AND HATE**

The warp pad began to glow as four figures came out from the beam of light. Steven came out first with his arms crossed and with an expression of annoyance on his face. Without saying anything he went to his bed and put his face on the pillow. Suddenly he felt observed so he began slowly to sit:

"What is it now?" Steven said with a little bit of anger in his voice.

Three figures were standing in front of his bed, Pearl and Garnet were standing in front of him with their arms crossed while Amethyst was rubbing the back of her head without looking at Steven directly in the eyes.

"Steven, we need to talk" Pearl said giving him a look made of anger mixed with concern.

"About what?!" Steven shouted, getting up from his bed.

"Steven you know exactly what I'm going to talk you about" Pearl replied.

"No I don't" Steven replied in a childish way.

"Steven…" Garnet began to talk "Now you'll sit down and you'll hear what Pearl has to say…heve I been clear?"

"Okay…" Steven sat down looking a little ashamed.

Pearl took a deep breath and sat next to Steven, she embraced him and her eyes began to water

"Steven please, you have to be more careful on missions, look at your arm!"

"Geez Pearl" Amethyst said, rolling her eyes and keeping her voice low, in order not to be heard by Pearl.

"Excuse me?!" Pearl shouted at Amethyst, having heard her.

"Oh com'on Pearl! He only got a little bruise on his arm, he's not going to die!" Amethyst shouted at her.

In the last few weeks Steven went on more missions with the gems, that's because Garnet noticed that he was gaining more control over his powers. But even if Steven gained the approval of Garnet, Pearl didn't want him to come with them so often, she thought that it could have been dangerous for him, that's why she began to try to keep Steven at home, explaining him that some missions could have been too dangerous for him, that he had to gain more control over his powers, sometimes ending up arguing. At first Amethyst was able to tolerate this, but now she couldn't, she didn't want Steven and Pearl to end up like her and Pearl, arguing every day, not showing love to each other anymore.

"Oh well, I'm sorry" Pearl replied sarcastically "you know, I care about him!"

There was a little bit of silence, Pearl realised what she said and cover her mouth with her hand, with her anger turned into remorse. She looked at Amethyst, she had her lips slightly parted and she was staring at her with a look of anger mixed with disgust, she clenched her fists and closed her eyes, a small tear began to fall down her face. Suddenly she went face to face with Pearl and shouted:

"DO YOU THINK I DON'T?! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO LOVES STEVEN?! WHO WANTS TO PROTECT HIM?! I CARE ABOUT HIM EVEN MORE THAN YOU, BECAUSE I BELIEVE IN HIM AND I KNOW THAT HE HAS GOT GREAT POWERS, AND IT'S NOT KEEPING HIM AT HOME LIKE A DUMB CHILD WHO DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO LOOK AFTER HIMSELF THAT YOU WILL HELP HIM!"

Pearl had both her hands on her mouth, tears were flowing down her face, even Garnet had her lips parted, Steven looked shocked, no one would have ever thought that Amethyst could have said such a thing.

"A…Amethyst…I…I didn't…I didn't mean to…" Pearl began to talk but Amethyst didn't want to listen to her after what she has said, she went to the temple's door, she opened it and she disappeard in her room. Garnet shook her head and did the same. Pearl began to cry in her hands but suddenly she felt an embrace, she opened her eyes and noticed that Steven was hugging her with tears in his eyes.

"Pearl, please, don't cry anymore, I know that what you do you do it for my own good, I know you love me and that you always want to protect me"

"No" Pearl sobbed, "Amethyst is right, I can't keep you at home like a baby anymore, but…but…I…I…I couldn't bear to lose you, I love you Steven and I believe in you, I know you are strong, but I couldn't imagine a life without you"

Steven and Pearl hugged tighter.

"Pearl, please, stop crying...I…I promise that I'll be more careful during missions and I promise that I will never leave you alone ok?"

Pearl looked at Steven and nodded, she released him from the embrace and began slowly to stand up. She walked down to the temple's door and opened it, before entering her room she stopped hearing a voice.

"Pearl?" Steven said while he was getting up from his bed.

"Yes Steven?"

"Can you try to patch up with Amethyst? I know it's hard for you two to get along but please…try…try to do it."

Pearl gave Steven a sad smile and nodded, as she entered Amethyst room. Steven spent the next ten minutes thinking about all the discussion when suddenly he heard some growls coming from his stomach, 'Man I'm hungry', Steven thought. After getting up from his bed, he went to the door but suddenly he stopped, a strange noise came from his bedroom.

Steven looked at his room for some seconds but then he closed the door, thinking that it was nothing. After Steven left something strange happened, his room began to become colder and colder and even if the sun was till shining it was like if there was no light in the place, and while Steven's bedroom was becoming increasingly dark, two red eyes could be seen in the dark, and a whisper could be heard…

"Haaate"


	2. Chapter 2: The Abyss

**CHAPTER 2: THE ABYSS**

**AMETHYST ROOM**

After what she has said, Pearl couldn't feel anything but remorse, she knew that Amethyst cared about Steven a lot, and she knew that even if it was almost impossibile to see, she cared about her too; Pearl began to walk through the piles of junk thinking about all the good times she had with Amethyst when Rose was still with them, she thought about the time when they could have been still called "friends".

"Oh Amethyst, what happend to us?" whispered Pearl, trying to spot Amethyst.

Suddenly she arrived at the foot of the pile of junk where Amethyst was taking a nap. Pearl could hear her snoring, she rolled her eyes and began to call her in a low voice.

"Amethyst?"

"Amethyst?" hearing no answer Pearl began to become annoyed.

"Amethyst please get up!" Pearl said, beginning to use a tone of voice a little higher.

Still hearing no answer Pearl began to climb the pile of junk assuming an expression of disgust on her face.

"Oh my, how disgusting is this? What don't I do for you Steven…"

Having reached the top of the pile, Pearl kneeled down to Amethyst and began to shake her slightly; suddenly Amethyst got up and fell down from the pile with Pearl; after some seconds both of them got up with an expression of anger on their faces.

"Why did you do that?!" shouted Pearl.

"What?! Why?! You scared me! What were you doing next to me while I was sleeping?!" yelled Amethyst.

"I just wanted to talk with you…" Pearl answered with her arms crossed, without watching Amethyst directly, feeling a little bit ashamed.

"I have nothing to say and I don't want to listen to whatever you have to say to me…" Amethyst said with a tone made of anger mixed with sadness.

Pearl looked shocked and while Amethyst turned around and began to climb her pile of junk, Pearl shouted at her, making her stop and turn to her. Pearl walked towards her and began to talk.

"Listen, I have something to say and I don't care if you don't want to listen to me…Steven asked me…" Pearl was interrupted by a laughter of disappointment.

"Typical…" Amethyst whispered, crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

"Excuse me, what did you say?!" Pearl shouted, starting to get really tired of her behavior.

Amethyst went out from her room and walked towards the front door, she didn't want to hear or to talk to Pearl anymore. Pearl reached the door before her and stopped her, placing one hand on Amethyst's shoulder. Amethyst slapped her hand and tried to push Pearl aside but she didn't move.

"What…did…you…say?!"Pearl screamed.

"I said typical Pearl!" Amethyst yelled at the top of her lungs.

"What the heck does it even mean?!" Pearl asked, closing her fists, knowing that her intent to make amends for what she has said was fading quickly between screams and anger.

"Oh well this is really weird" Amethyst laughed sarcastically, "You know, you are used to be the smart, educated and…perfect one between us while I am the stupid, lazy,rude and irresponsabile one, am I right?"

"Amethyst…I…I" Pearl knew she couldn't answer, she knew that all those things that Amethyst said about herself were the ones she always said to her during their quarrels and she knew that if she would have denied it, conditions would have only gotten worse.

"He he, you know… you are incredible, you are here to patch up things, aren't you? So that we can continue to live our lives in a serene way? So that we can be able to stay in the same room together, looking into our eyes without feeling the hate that you feel for me?"

Tears began to form in Amethyst eyes while Pearl was just staring at her, with both her hands on her mouth, she didn't know that Amethyst felt that way. Pearl wanted to embrace her but she knew that Amethyst wouldn't have accepted the hug.

"Am…Ameth…Amethyst…I…I don't…" Pearl began to sob.

"No…you came only because Steven asked you to come to me and to patch things up…you…don't…you don't really care about it…you…hate…" Amethyst was interrupted by Pearl, who couldn't bear the situation anymore.

"No, please Amethyst, do not say that…you know that I don't…I don't…"

"He he, I knew it, you can't say that isn't it?...You… you hate me"

Amethyst began to cry while she pushed Pearl away from the door and went outside, starting to go down the stairs.

"Amethyst please don't go!" Pearl shouted.

"You know what is the worse thing Pearl? It's not that you hate me…no it's not that…really I can bear it…it is something worse…you know, I really believed in Steven…Yes I believed in his powers...in all of them… but I believed in one of his powers in particolar…It's not something magical…no…it's love…I thought that love was Steven's most powerful power…I thought that it could have given me back my old Pearl… the one which I could laugh, have fun and enjoy life with…but…but I was wrong…" Amethyst gave her a look not made of anger, just made of pure sadness, then she shapeshifted into a bird and flew away above the headlight.

"WAIT AMETHYST! I DON'T HATE YOU! PLEASE COME BACK!" Pearl shouted at the top of her lungs, but Amethyst couldn't hear her.

Pearl cried in her hands, while she began to run towards the temple's door. Suddenly she stopped as she felt the temperature becoming increasingly cold. Pearl stood in front of the temple's door for some moments, but then she decided not to care about it; sobbing she entered her room without turning around…without noticing that behind her there wasn't Steven's room anymore, there was nothing outside the temple's door except for an endless, dark abyss, and while the temple's door closed behind Pearl's shoulders, a sick laughter began to grow in the dark and this time a voice could be clearly heard.

"_Soon you will be mine…Steven_"


	3. Chapter 3: Comforting

**CHAPTER 3: COMFORTING**

Steven was making his way to the Big Donut, thinking about what had happend a few moments before; while he was walking, he began to think about the whole situation and that this time it wouldn't have been so easy to patch up things; he knew that Amethyst and Pearl have been used to yell at each other for many years, but this time something had changed, he has never heard Amethyst talking that way, saying those things. Steven knew that probably he would have had to help them patching up things because this time a simple "I'm sorry", pulled out by force from either Pearl or Amethyst, wouldn't have definitely adjusted things.

"I really hope Pearl will patch up things" Steven began to say to himself.

Deep in thought, Steven didn't notice that he had arrived in front of the Big Donut's door, so he entered the store without shouting any "Hello!" with his usual happy tone. Sadie looked at him and noticed that Steven hadn't got his usual bright smile on his face.

"Hey Steven, how are you? Why that long face?" Sadie asked.

"Oh…it's nothing…" Steven said with a little bit of sadness in his voice, "Just give me one chocolate donut…"

Sadie wanted to understand what was going on with him, she cared about Steven but she thought that maybe it wasn't the right moment to talk about it.

"Ok Steven… here's your donut..." Sadie said, giving him his donut.

Steven was walking towards the door when he heard a familiar, annoying voice.

"What's up? Problems with your four-eyed girlfriend or maybe with that freak show you call family?" Lars began to laugh holding his stomach.

Both Sadie and Steven turned to Lars with wide eyes, but the expression that Steven had on his face couldn't be described. Usually he would have just left the place with his hands in his pockets, keeping his face down, but not this time, not after what he had to go through that day, and no one would have expected what happened next. Steven began to walk towards Lars grinding his teeth, clenching his fists.

"Wait…wha" Lars stopped talking when he felt Steven's punch in his stomach, and even if Steven was only a twelve years boy, Lars actually felt the punch and kneeled down to the ground.

"DO NOT DARE TO TALK ABOUT THE GEMS IN THAT WAY AGAIN! THEY ARE THE BEST PEOPLE I HAVE EVER MET, THEY ALWAYS WANT TO PROTECT EVERYONE FROM DANGER, EVEN PEOPLE WHO DON'T DESERVE THAT…LIKE YOU!"

Steven gave him a look only made of pure disgust, shook his head and went out from the shop.

"What the heck is his problem?!" Lars shouted, turning to Sadie, only to be slapped on his face by her.

Steven began to walk towards the temple, thinking about what he has asked to Pearl, 'I hope that she will be able to patch up things, I know that she cares about Amethyst, and I know that Amethyst cares about her too, they only need to talk to each other and to be sincere'. Suddenly his phone began to ring, he watched the display and saw that Connie was calling him.

"Hi Connie" Steven answered the call.

"Hi Steven, how are you?" Connie asked, beginning to notice the sadness of Steven's voice tone.

"I'm…fine" Steven couldn't hide the fact that something was bothering him, especially to Connie, who knew him very well.

"Steven, I know that there's something wrong, do you want to talk about it?" Connie asked, a little bit worried, she knew that Steven was always optimistic, radiant and happy, and that if he was sad, there should have been something that was worth talking about.

"It's…it's that…I…I" Steven paused for a little and began to snort.

"Steven…you know that if there is something wrong that make you sad you can talk with me about it, you know that I'm your friend and I only want to help you…" Connie said with a gentle voice.

"Thank you Connie…you know…Pearl and Amethyst had quarreled and" Steven was interrupted by Connie who emitted a sigh.

"Again?" Connie said sighing.

"Yes, but this time it was…kinda different…"

"What do you mean saying 'different'?"

"I mean, they always shout at each other but…they just…say things like 'you are so childish' and 'oh well I'm sorry Ms. perfection'…they don't say anything but insults…this time…it was like if they reached their limits…Pearl pretended to be the only one who cares about me and Amethyst began to yell at her that she doesn't believe in me and that it's not keeping me at home like a dumb child that she will help me…and…I'm starting to think that I am the cause of their quarrels…" Steven stopped talking and his eyes began to water.

"Do not even think that Steven, they shout at each other only because they see things in different ways, but that isn't important, trust me, they love you and I am sure that they love each other, even if it's hard to see…" Connie said trying to cheer Steven up.

"Thank you Connie…" Steven began to smile, but his smile began to fade when he saw Amethyst shapeshifting into a bird, flying over the headlight with Pearl shouting at her, beginning to cry in her hands, rushing towards the house's door.

"S…sorry Connie now I have to go…" Steven said while closing the call, starting to rush to the headlight. He knew that something went wrong.

Steven arrived at the headlight's door, panting for the rush, starting to climb the stairs as fast as he could do. As soon as he entered the upper room, he saw Amethyst sitting near the railing, trying to hold her sobs.

"Amethyst…what happened?" Steven asked, not sure about how to act, in fact he never saw Amethyst in this state, she was always so bright and happy, regardless of what others thought of her but now…when she turned to him, trying to smile, he could see only sadness in her eyes.

"N…nothing buddy, it's alright, really…I…I" Amethyst couldn't hold her tears anymore.

Steven ran to her and enveloped her in a warm hug.

"Amethyst, what's wrong?"

"P…Pearl hates me…" Amethyst said between her sobs.

"Amethyst…you know that it's not the truth, you know that Pearl didn't really mean what she has said to you, I…know that it's really hard for you two to get along with each other, but you must understand that she only doesn't like the way you act, that's all…" Steven wasn't really sure about what he had just said, it was hard to think that Pearl and Amethyst quarrelled so much only because of their different personalities.

"Thanks buddy, but…you know…even for me it's easy to understand that there's something else, but I can't understand what…it makes me feel so…foolish"

"Don't say such things Amethyst! You are not foolish! Come on, where is the Amethyst who doesn't care about what the others think about her? No one can make you feel like garbage? Am I right?" Steven asked, smiling to her.

"He he, right…right" Amethyst replied, rubbing Steven's hair, wiping her tears. She wasn't really convinced, but Steven's words made her feel much better.

"Yesss" Steven smiled at Amethyst another time before getting up without saying anything else, knowing that even if she felt better, she wouldn't have followed him down to the temple that evening.

"Good night Amethyst" Steven whispered to himself as he began to walk down the hill.

After brushing his teeth, Steven walked towards his bed, being really tired. He went under his cover with a smile on his face, 'Maybe I'll be able to fix things, I only have to talk with Pearl and when the situation will be calmer I'll make them sit down and talk' Steven thought, 'Yes, they don't really…hate each other…I'm…I'm sure about it'. Steven closed his eyes…but then, suddenly, he heard a strange noise.

"Pearl? Garnet? Is that you?" Steven began to sit on his bed, feeling really cold, "Mmm, why is here so co…", as soon as he opened his eyes, Steven remained speechless, realizing that he could only see his bed; the kitchen, the warp pad, the temple's door, his bedroom were…disappeared. The only thing left was his bed, in a cold, endless darkness. Steven couldn't believe his eyes, he began to feel scared…really scared.

"Wha…wha…what's happening?!" Steven said, beginning to tremble. "Guys, is…is this a joke? I…I don't like it! Stop it! I'm…I'm" Steven stopped talking when he saw something horrible…a black hand…with long fingernails, began to rise above him, and when it was going to grab Steven's leg, a hellish voice could be heard coming from the darkness…

"_What is your problem Steven? Afraid of the dark?"_

**Well guys here ends chapter number three, I hope you liked it, thanks for all the reviews, favs and follows, you can't even imagine how important they are for me, oh and if you have some hints for a new writer, please write them in the reviews. See you in the next chapter, it will arrive soon, I promise.**


	4. Chapter 4: Still too bright

**CHAPTER 4: STILL TOO BRIGHT**

**HEADLIGHT**

Amethyst was trying to sleep, but she couldn't do it, because even if Steven cheered her up a little, she couldn't stop thinking about what Pearl had said to her, but what was really tormenting Amethyst wasn't what Pearl said to her, it was what she hadn't said to her…

"Why couldn't you say that, why couldn't you just say 'I don't hate you, I love you' and junks like that?!" Amethyst began to walk in circles, waving her arms, gritting her teeth.

"What did I do to you?!" Amethyst's eyes began to water as she sat down.

"I…I just…want to be…friends again"

Amethyst sobbed, covering her face with both her hands.

"Well you know what?! I…I don't need you Pearl…I can perfectly live my life without a 'I know everything, bird nose, boring, annoying...jerk like you! I…I have Garnet and most importantly I have Steven…"

Thinking about Steven and all the good times she has passed with him, Amethyst closed her eyes and began to sleep…until she was awakened by a loud scream.

"Wha…what?" Amethyst began to get up, hearing other screams coming from Steven's house.

**STEVEN'S BEDROOM**

_"__What is your problem Steven? Afraid of the the dark?" _

Steven could hear a dreadful voice coming from the darkness while a horrifying black hand, with nails like razors began to rise above his bed, moving towards him. Steven was terrified and all what he wanted to do was to run away…but he couldn't do that…because there weren't any places where he could have escaped from that thing, there weren't any places to hide, the only thing left was his bed, in a complete and terrifying darkness.

_"__You can't escape from me…I'm everywhere"_ The voice said, as a demonic sick laugh began to spread in the darkness. Steven couldn't do anything but scream…

"Noooo, go away!" Steven shouted, with tears running down his cheeks, as he tried to hit the hand with his pillow, only to obtain a even more frightening and loud laugh.

_"__I will swallow you, and when you'll disappear…it will be the turn of your… precious friends"_The voice whispered as the hand was going to grab Steven's leg.

"Nooo, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet! Please help me!" Steven screamed at the top of his lungs, covering his eyes with both his arms.

_"__They won't save you…you…are…mine"_ The voice shouted, as the hand finally reached and grabbed Steven's leg…but suddenly…the hellish laugh that was coming from the darkness began to fade…and a scream of pain began to rise in the darkness.

_"__Still…too…bright"_ The voice began to fade as the hand released Steven, revealing burning marks on its black skin. The hand slowly retreated into the darkness as Steven began to open his eyes, realizing that his bedroom, the kitchen, the warp pad and the temple's door had reappered. As Steven got up from his bed, the temple's door opened, showing a slender figure with a white spear in her hands.

"Steven!" Pearl shouted, "Is it alright?! I heard you screaming!" She asked, worried for Steven's health.

"PEARLPEARLPEARLPEARLPEARLPLEASEPLEASEYOUGOTTOHELPMEOHMYGOSH THEREISAMOSTERUNDERMYBEDHELPMEEE!" Steven ran towards her, shouting and still crying.

"Steven, I can't understand what you say if you talk like that, take deep breaths and try to calm yourself, ok?" Pearl saw that Steven was crying, so she kneeled down and embraced him. Steven began to sob less loudly.

"Pearl, a monster tried to grab my leg! It was going to swallow me!" Steven said, keeping to look behind him. As Pearl heard this words her eyes grew wide, she quickly got up, made Steven stand behind her and raised her spear, she couldn't believe that a monster could have killed Steven and that she wasn't there to save him, 'Oh my god, he could have died! My little Steven could heve died! And…and I… wasn't there to help him...'. Pearl's eyes began to water as she looked at Steven, who looked at her with the most concerned expressions she had ever seen on his face.

"Steven, stay behind me, ok? Where is the creature that attacked you?" Pearl asked, taking a few steps forwards, looking around in order to spot the monster.

"It came from under my bed!" Steven shouted, unware about the absurdity of his statement.

Pearl looked for a few moments at Steven's bedroom, then, her expression changed from a worried one to a disconcerted one. She made her spear disappear as she looked down at Steven, who was hiding behind her leg, glancing at his bedroom with an extremely frightened expression. She kneeled down and put her hand on his shoulder, looking at Steven directly in his eyes with a very serious expression on her face.

"Steven…do you even imagine how I was worried about you?" Pearl asked with a tone made of relief and annoyance.

"Wha…what are you talking about?!" Steven shouted, continuing to turn around in order to keep an eye on his bedroom, trying to understand what was happening.

"Steven, you must understand that you can't make me worry so much only because you had a bad dream!" Pearl hugged Steven, smiling, believing that all what had happened was just a bad dream.

"What are you talking about?!" Steven broke free from the embrace much to Pearl's surprise, "It was terrifying, it came from under my bed, it tried to grab me, it wanted to swallow me!" Steven began to yell at Pearl.

"Listen Steven, 'the monster under the bed' is only a legend that humans use to scare children, it's nothing more then a silly story, trust me, you only had a bad dream, that's all, maybe you are just a little bit stressed because of the...events that happened during these days…" Pearl expression suddenly became sad, because of the thoughts of her and Amethyst arguing.

"But… but I…" Steven began to talk only to be stopped by Pearl, who put her forefinger on his lips looking at him with a sad smile.

"Just a bad dream…nothing more, ok?" Pearl said, before getting up, waiting for Steven's answer with her arms crossed.

"O…ok…I guess…I guess you are…right" Steven said, unsure about all what had happened.

"Very well, Steven" Pearl rubbed his hair, before turning around, starting to walk towards the temple door. Suddenly she stopped as she heard the house's door opening and a familiar voice beginning to shout.

"Steven! Is everything ok?!" Amethyst shouted as she ran to him with her whip in her hand. As Pearl saw her she blushed a little and so did Amethyst, then, without saying a word, Pearl entered her room, leaving Steven alone with Amethyst.

"However…Is everything ok Steven? I heard you screaming!" Amethyst noticed that all seemed to be quiet, so she made her whip disappear as she looked at Steven, who began to rub the back of his head, looking a little bit ashamed.

"Well…?" Amethyst asked again.

"Oh, ehm…I…I thought I have seen some sort of…monster…coming out from…ehm…under my bed…and I got scared" Steven answered sheepishly.

Amethyst looked at him for some moments and then began to laugh, falling on the ground, holding her stomach. When she got up, Steven looked a little bit offended so Amethyst reached him and put an arm over his shoulders.

"Come on buddy, don't mind it, you just had some dumb nightmare, nothing to warry about" Amethyst said, smiling at him.

"Well…if you say so" Steven answered, giving her a smile too.

"Wanna get some fry bits?" Amethyst asked him, punching his arm friendly.

"Yesss" Steven answered happily.

"Or do you want me to check the closet to spot some terrible monster that is going to eat you during the night?" Amethyst asked sarcastically.

"AMETHYST!" Steven shouted, a little bit offended.

"Sorry buddy, come on, lets go"


	5. Chapter 5: Believe in Steven

**CHAPTER 5: BELIEVE IN STEVEN**

Steven was walking on the beach with Amethyst, eating fry bits and thinking about what had happened the last night, he wasn't really sure about what Pearl had said to him, he could still feel the grip of the monster on his leg and he could still hear that horrible laugh resounding in his head. Steven was still deep in his thoughts when Amethyst began to tell him a joke. After finishing it, she began to laugh loudly, holding her stomach with both her arms, but then, noticing that Steven was looking down to the ground while walking, and that he wasn't even smiling, she stopped and looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What's wrong Steven?" Amethyst asked, beginning to understand what was bothering Steven.

"Oh, nothing…really…really funny" Steven replied, giving her a little smile that dissolved immediately as he went back to watch the sand while walking towards the temple.

"Ohhh reaaaly?" Amethyst asked using a sarcastic tone of voice.

"Yes, really…well…if I must admit…" Steven said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Oh come on Steven, tell me it's not still about that silly thing of the monster…" Amethyst snorted, rolling her eyes.

"It's not silly, I was really scared…it was laughing and it said that after having swallowed me…it…it would have come for you guys…" Steven's eyes began to water.

Hearing Steven's words, Amethyst's expression changed from an annoyed one to a tender one as she hugged Steven.

"Don't worry Steven, you only had a bad dream, and even if that monster was real, I would have kicked his dumb ass before he could do anything to my little, special, goofy kid" Amethyst said, giving him a tender smile. Steven began to laugh as he hugged Amethyst tighter.

"Thank you Amethyst" Steven said, re leasing her from the embrace.

"Amethyst?" He asked with an insecure tone.

"Yes buddy?"

"Can you stay in the temple this night?" Steven knew that Amethyst wouldn't have done it gladly, but he thought that maybe he could have helped her patching up with Pearl.

"Well…Steven I…don't…really know if it is a good idea…" Amethyst replied, blushing a little.

"Pleeeeeeease…" Steven looked at her with the most cute face he could do.

"Okay okay… but if Ms. Perfection has something to say, I'll leave in no time, ok?" Amethyst knew that she would have probably argued with Pearl another time, but she also had some faith in Steven capacities, after all, he was Rose's son, the most loving and compassionate gem in all the galaxy, she remembered the fact that even when Rose was still alive, she argued with Pearl, not so frequently and not so loudly, but sometimes they argued, but that Rose always intervened, because she couldn't bear two friends arguing, and remembered the two that they were like sisters one for the other and that they shouldn't have hurt each other because of stupid things like laziness or vulgarity. After Steven's birth, when Rose disappeared, giving up her physical form for him, Pearl began to tease her much more, and she couldn't understand why… 'Oh…Rose, what did I do to her, I…I miss her…I…miss you…' Amethyst thought while she entered the house with Steven on her side.

Pearl was standing in front of Garnet who was standing on the warp pad; as Steven and Amethyst approached them, they began to hear their conversation.

"Pearl, you can't let your feelings get between you and your efficiency as protector of humanity…and you can't act like that in front of Steven everytime, do you even imagine how he must feel having you two around him, arguing all the time?" Garnet talked with her usual stoic tone of voice, looking directly in Pearl's eyes from her shades, who was blushing and looking at the ground, "Now you will go find Amethyst and I don't care if you'll do it against your will, if you'll do it for Steven or if you'll do it for you, but you will patch up things and in an hour we'll go on mission together, have I been clear?" Garnet waited for an answer from Pearl.

"Y…yes Garnet" As Pearl turned around she saw Amethyst and Steven walking towards her and Garnet.

"Oh…h…hi" Pearl said, looking a little bit ashamed.

"Hi Pearl!" Steven replied happily, while Amethyst gave Pearl only a snort.

"Are you going on a mission?" Steven asked with stars in his eyes.

"Yes Steven…and you will come too" Garnet answered, looking at Steven, smiling slightly.

"So coool!" Steven shouted, raising his fists in the air.

"But…but Garnet…" Pearl began to speak, still worried about Steven's safety during missions. At her words, Amethyst rolled her eyes and sat on the couch snorting.

"I said that Steven will come with us and" Garnet was interrupted by Pearl who began to talk with a tone of voice made of concern and annoyance.

"But it could be dangerous for him! He…he nearly got killed in the last mission!" Pearl covered her mouth as she realized that she had shouted the last few words right in the face of her leader.

"I…I am sorry Garnet…" Pearl said, taking a few steps back, blushing and looking very worried about how Garnet would have reacted. Much to everyone's surprise, Garnet didn't do anything, she just looked at Pearl for a moment, then she turned around and began to walk towards the temple's door…but before entering her room, she turned to Pearl and began to speak.

"You have to believe in him…this was Rose's dying wish…is it so hard for you?" Garnet asked, turning to the temple's door, disappearing into her room.

She knew that what she has said would have hurt Pearl, and she knew that Pearl only wanted to protect Steven, but she couldn't permit her to limit what Steven could have done, she couldn't allow Pearl to limit his capacities…that wasn't what Rose would have wanted for him.

Pearl looked puzzled as tears began to form in her eyes, she began to breathe heavily as she clenched her fists and closed her eyes, with tears coming down her cheeks. Suddenly she started to shout at the temple's door.

"IS IT SO HARD FOR YOU TO UNDERSTAND THAT ALL WHAT I DO, I DO IT FOR STEVEN, OR…OR…OR ARE YOU SO BLIND THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THAT?" Pearl fell on her knees, with Steven and Amethyst looking at her with an astonished expression on their faces. Steven ran towards her and hugged her, wiping her tears from her face.

"Please Pearl, stop shouting like that or Garnet will be mad at you, I don't want her to hurt you, listen…I already told you that I'll be careful on missions, remember? I promised you…and Steven Quartz Universe don't breaks promises, ok?"Steven gently took her face in his hands, smiling at her.

"Tsk…let her shout, maybe after that Garnet has beaten her, she will understand that you are no longer a suckling" Amethyst said with a disdainful tone.

Pearl stopped crying, she was smiling to Steven, but when she heard Amethyst words…well that was the straw that broke the camel's back. Pearl began to stand up, with pure anger in her eyes, Steven knew that what would have happened next wouldn't have been anything good.

"Pearl…please…don't" Steven began to talk, but it was too late. Pearl began to walk furiously towards Amethyst, who was puzzled and didn't know what to do; then, when she reached her and stood in fornt of her, Pearl looked at Amethyst for a moment…and then she slapped her, causing Amethyst to fall down from the couch. The two stared at each other for some moments, with disconcerted expressions on their faces, then, when Amethyst got up…suddenly she jumped on Pearl and the two began to fight.

"Guys, please stop fighting!" Steven yelled, starting to run towards them.

As he reached them, Steven began to wave his arms shouting at them to stop fighting, then he began to try to separate them, which proved to be a very bad idea, in fact, as Amethyst tried to punch Pearl, she hit Steven with her elbow right in his face. Steven fell down to the ground, holding his face with both his hands. Pearl and Amethyst stopped fighting and helped Steven getting up.

"Steven are you alright?!" As Pearl kneeled down to Steven, she began to stare at Amethyst with anger and disgust.

"Look at what you have done!" Pearl shouted, suddenly, a voice could be heard coming from the temple's door, that was now open, showing Garnet, who was grinding her teeth, with her fists clenched, which was very unusual for her. As Amethyst and Pearl heard her voice and looked at her, noticing her state, they both looked terrified.

"NO, LOOK AT WHAT YOU AND AMETHYST HAVE DONE! YOU HAVE HURT STEVEN AND I SHOULD BREAK ALL OF YOUR BONES JUST BECAUSE OF THAT!" Garnet shouted at them. Even she had her limits, and she couldn't bear Pearl and Amethyst quarreling anymore, not now that Steven had been hurt.

"YOU TWO, COME ON THIS WARP PAD IN THIS ISTANT!" She yelled, then she turned to Steven and lowering down her tone she spoke to him.

"Steven…you too, don't be afraid, I'm not mad at you" Garnet said.

Steven walked towards Garnet and began to stand on the warp pad, looking at Pearl and Amethyst; they were slowly walking towards them, looking sheepishly at the ground.

"Now…apologize to Steven" Garnet said without looking at them, with her usual stoic tone of voice.

"We…we are sorry Steven…" Both Amethyst and Pearl looked very ashamed.

"I'm ok guys…just…next time make sure I'm not near to you…" Steven said, trying to smile, trying to cheer everyone up.

Amethyst giggled a little but she stopped immediately when Garnet looked at her. The four of them disappeard into the beam of light…not aware…that something was watching them. As the beam of light disappeard…a dark…tall figure, with blood red eyes and no mouth…began to descend the ladder of Steven's bedroom. It's image seemed to be distorted, it was flickering and it seemed hard for the creature to walk…but slowly…it reached the warp pad and as the beam of light began to appear, a distorted, demonic voice could be heard in the room…

_"__Have fun with your friends Steven…because when you will return, they won't be able to protect you from me anymore…and your light will finally disappear…into my darkness."_

**Well guys, here ends chapter number five, I hope you liked it, it seems that the monster has been able to enter the real world with a body, but it's like if the creature isn't complete yet, it's like if it's still weak…why? And what is it going to do to the gems, but most importantly, what is it going to do to Steven? Find out in the next chapter! It will arrive soon, and don't be worried, there will be some action ****J****(finally), thanks again for all the reviews, favs and follows, you are great guys! **


	6. Chapter 6: On mission

**CHAPTER 6: ON MISSION**

As the beam of light faded away, Steven, Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet began slowly to walk off the warp pad. In front of them there was a very large forest, with tall, thick trees; it was night, clouds were covering the sky completely, preventing the moonlight to guide them, illuminating their path, so they couldn't see very far ahead. Pearl and Amethyst still looked angry with each other, in fact they had both arms crossed, upset expressions on their faces, and they weren't looking at each other. Amethyst began to walk faster, in order to stay as far as she could from Pearl, but as she tried to do that, Garnet put her hand on Amethyst's shoulder and stopped her. Amethyst turned around and looked a little bit scared as she realized that she was standing face to face with her leader.

"Amethyst, now you'll go back and during all the duration of our mission you will stay side by side with Pearl…" Garnet said, with her stoic tone of voice.

"But…Garnet!" Amethyst tried to reply, but she was cut off by Garnet, who was starting to get nervous.

"Amethyst…go…back…now" Garnet was trying not to get angry, but even for her it was really hard; she always had an immeasurable patience with those two, but when Rose left them, something happened to them, and as days passed, she found increasingly difficult to bear them, especially now that they hurt Steven.

Amethyst began to walk towards Pearl, snorting and staring at the ground. As she reached her, Garnet looked at Steven, smiling slightly to him; she kneeled down, making him sign to get closer to her. Steven began slowly to reach her, he knew that Garnet would have never hurt him, but he was still quite afraid of her. As Steven reached her, Garnet rubbed his hair, making him giggle.

"Come on Steven…we will stay ahead…Pearl and Amethyst will watch our back…ok?" Garnet said, getting up from the ground, starting to walk through the trees, with Steven at her side. He was smiling, because he understood that Garnet's purpose wasn't to make Pearl and Amethyst do a cover, she was trying to make them patch up things…in her own way, but he was still worried about what could have happened next.

"Are you sure that making them stay together in this moment is a good idea?" Steven asked her, a little bit worried about what could have happened.

"Don't worry Steven…after my last…intervention…I'm sure that they won't dare to try to fight again…" Garnet was sure that Pearl and Amethyst wouldn 't have done anything that would have bothered her, not after her last…statement she gave them before leaving the temple.

"Thank you…" Steven whispered to Garnet.

Garnet looked at him and nodded, giving him another slight smile, then she began to walk through the trees, proceeding cautiously, because of the poor visibility.

"Wait a minute Garnet!" Steven said, opening his cheeseburger backpack and taking out from it a flashlight.

"Well thought Steven…" Garnet said to him, before continuing to proceed through the forest.

Amethyst and Pearl were walking side by side, giving each other dirty looks time to time, they both didn't like the situation but they couldn't do anything about it; suddenly, Amethyst began to speak, still not looking at Pearl.

"So, nothing to say bird queen?" Amethyst asked with a mocking tone. She knew that telling Pearl this would have made her angry again, but it was like if she didn't care about this, like if she didn't even care about how Garnet would have reacted to another of their quarrels; if she couldn't have her old P. back with her, she would have shown her the same hate that she believed that Pearl felt for her.

"After what you have done I have nothing more to say to you…" Pearl replied, not looking at Amethyst, using a tone made of superiority and reproach.

"What…I have done?!" Amethyst tried not to scream at Pearl.

"Yes... you hurt Steven and…" Pearl was cut off by Amethyst, who began to stare at her, giving her a disconcerted look.

"It would have never happened if it wasn't for you! You began the fight by slapping me!" Amethyst was losing her temper.

"It was all your fault Amethyst, you and your inappropriate…foolish comments!" Pearl said those final words with disgust in her voice.

"Ooooh, I see, it was my fault right? Because it is never your fault, right Pearl? Errors are not part of your being perfect…" Amethyst began to use a sarcastic tone, much to Pearl's annoyance.

"Amethyst…you know that's not true…" Pearl answered, a little unsure about what she had just said, she knew that she always tried to look like the perfect one in her team.

"Yes it is true! But this time it wasn't my fault, it was yours! You started all this thing! You hurt Steven. You, only you and your… STUPID WORRIES!" Amethyst yelled at Pearl with anger in her voice, not walking anymore, just staring at her with an angry look.

"Shut…up…" Pearl was trying to contain her rage, Amethyst had just accused her of having hurt the person she loved most in the whole world, when she was only trying to protect him.

"Can't bear the truth?" Amethyst joked, in an evil way.

Pearl couldn't bear Amethyst's behavior anymore, her eyes began to water, she turned to Amethyst clenching her fists with tears running down her cheeks.

"I just want to protect him…" Pearl whispered, holding back her rage.

"No… you want him to be your little puppet to cuddle, what the heck is your problem?!…You are pathetic… and Rose would think the same…" Amethyst couldn't believe that she said such a thing, her expression changed from an angry one to a full of regret one. Pearl had both of her hands on her mouth, even if Amethyst had been unbearable in the last days, she couldn't believe she said such an horrible thing to her, the gem that probably loved Rose more.

"You are a monster…" Pearl whispered, "Do you want to know what is my only problem? You are my only problem!"

"Well, sorry if I exist…" Amethyst replied sarcastically, unware about how much she had hurt Pearl.

"Apologies don't solve problems…" Pearl replied coldly, before walking away, leaving a shocked Amethyst behind her.

Steven saw Pearl arriving, and with a worried look in his eyes he touched Garnet's hand, she looked at him knowing what he was thinking.

"I don't think your…idea…worked so well…" Steven said sheepishly.

"Don't worry Steven, they will solve their problems, they'll be friends again, and everything will return to be as always" Garnet replied, not very sure about her last statement, she could see that her two teammates had arrived to a breaking point, 'Oh Rose, if only you were here…' Garnet thought as a small shrine began to appear from the darkness of the forest.

"What's this place?" Steven asked.

"The gem artifact we are looking for should be here…" Garnet said…suddenly she summoned her gauntlets, Pearl and Amethyst did the same as they began to regroup, forming a circle around Steven who looked very worried.

"What's happening guys?" Steven asked.

"There's something wrong" Garnet replied, as some growls could be heard, coming from behind the trees. As the gems prepared themselves for the worst, a large shape began to raise from the darkness, the beast was ten meters tall, it had a humanoid form, a strong build, long claws, a bright red fur and a dark red octagonal ruby on his chest. It began to walk towards them threateningly.

"We should have never took Steven with us!" Pearl shouted, really worried.

"Oh shut up already!" Amethyst replied, they were going to argue another time but Garnet intervened.

"YOU TWO, THIS THING ENDS NOW, WE HAVE TO PROTECT STEVEN NOW, SO GET FOCUSED" Garnet shouted making the two gems blush with embarrassment.

But then, something strange happened, there was something, something that the gems didn't notice, standing behind the beast, it looked light a shadow and as it touched the beast it vanished…

_"__Let's have some fun together…" _The dark figure whispered before disappearing.

The beast let out a loud scream of pain, it kneeled down to the ground, it held its head with both its hands, its fur began to turn form a bright red one, to a gray one, and as its eyes became completely red and soulless, it's gem…became black and as it got up, and began slowly to walk towards the gems, the beast let out a strange noise that resembled a laugh.

"Wha…What's happening?!" Steven asked, looking very worried and confused.

"I…don't know Steven…Gems, get ready, this won't be easy…" Garnet said, raising her gauntlets as Pearl did the same with her spear and Amethyst with her whip, while the beast began to rush towards them.

_"__Say goodbye to your friends…Steven"_

**_Ok guys, I know, I know I promised that I would have made this chapter a little more eventful, sorry for that, but as you can see, action is near to begin, the next chapter will be about the fight between the creature and the gems, I will post it soon...I hope...nah don't worry it will come out soon, as always thanks a lot for all the reviews, favs and follows, I know I'm getting repetitive but they are important for me, thanks again and have a nice day out there!_**


	7. Chapter 7: Fight or Leave

**CHAPTER 7: FIGHT OR LEAVE**

The beast got up slowly, gritting its fangs, it looked at the gems with its red eyes and as it let out something that resembled a laugh, it began to rush towards them and when it was going to reach the gems, it jumped over them, with its jaws opened and with its claws extended towards them. The gems quickly dodged the monster's attack as each of them began to attack it. Before attacking, Garnet shouted at Steven.

"Steven! Hide behind the shrine!" Garnet yelled, she knew that even if Steven gained more control over his powers and could use almost all of them without many problems, this battle seemed to be too much dangerous for him.

"But I want to help you!" Steven shouted, he knew that this battle wouldn't have been easy, but he still wanted to help Garnet, Pearl and Amethyst, he wanted to protect them, even if that meant to get injured, or maybe worse…

"STEVEN…NOW!" Garnet screamed, as she dodged an attack, almost being hit by the monster; even if it was huge, the beast was very fast and as the battle proceeded, the gems couldn't notice any sign of tiredness in it.

"Garnet, what's the plan?" Amethyst yelled, picking up a large rock with her whip and throwing it to beast, which turned out to be useless when it grabbed the rock before it could hit its head, shattering it in its hand.

"We don't have a plan! We just have to keep fighting, it will get tired and we'll be able to get rid of it!" Garnet said, unsure about her own plan, it looked like that the beast would have never got tired.

The monster focused on Garnet and tried to hit her with its fast slashing attacks, suddenly, it let out a scream of pain; the beast had multiple lacerations on its back, Amethyst managed to hit it with her whip while the beast was fighting against Garnet.

"Does it hurt?" Amethyst joked, as she attacked again…but this time something went wrong…the beast grabbed her whip and yanked it hard, making Amethyst fly towards it. As Amethyst was going to collide with the beast…it punched her right in the face making her fly towards the shrine, reducing it to rubble.

"AMETHYST!" Pearl screamed as she tried to reach her, only to be stopped by Garnet, who placed her hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"Pearl…calm down, Steven is there and he will help Amethyst, we can't go there now… the monster would certainly follow us and it could hurt Steven…and we both don't want this to happen right?" Garnet said calmly, despite the situation.

Pearl nodded, with few tears running down her cheeks. They both saw that the beast was now heading towards the remains of the shrine; Pearl threw her spear to the monster's back. Much to her surprise, the beast grabbed her spear and broke it in two like a toothpick but at least it turned its attention to them.

"AMETHYST! AMETHYST ARE YOU ALRIGHT?!" Steven shouted as he ran through the rubble and saw that Amethyst was laying on the ground, full of cuts and bruises, not moving. As he reached her, Steven fell on his knees and began to tap her arm, but Amethyst was still laying without moving, showing no signs of life.

"A…Amethyst…please…get up…" Steven said, as tears began to form in his eyes.

"Please Amethyst…open your eyes…you…you can't leave us…I…I don't want it to end like like this…please Amethyst…talk to me…I can't make it without you…" Steven began to sob loudly as he hugged Amethyst.

"S…Stev…" Steven's eyes grew wide and as he raised his head he could see that Amethyst's eyes were slightly opened, she coughed and hugged Steven.

"Don't…don't worry Steven…I'm…I'm fine" Amethyst said as she began to get up.

"You can't go back now Amethyst!" Steven cried, seeing how many injures she had.

"Then…please…heal me…that white jerk and Garnet can't beat that monster on their own…" Amethyst replied, falling to her knees.

"Yes they can! Please Amethyst…don't go…it…i twill kill you" Steven said, sobbing, hugging Amethyst again.

"Steven…" Amethyst caressed Steven's hair "If I don't go…they could get hurt like me…or worse…I know that you only want to protect us, but letting me go it's the only way you can protect us now…" Amethyst looked at Steven and wiped his tears.

"Please…be careful" Steven said, then he spat on his hands and touched Amethyst injures, that vanished after some moments.

"Thank you buddy…now stay here while I kick that monster right in the butt, ok?" Amethyst said, smiling to Steven, who giggled and nodded.

"Garnet we can't stop it…it's…it's just too strong! We have to leave!" Pearl said, dodging an upcoming attack from the monster.

"No…if we escape now and we let it live, it could hurt people, it's far too dangerous, we have to take it down!" Garnet yelled, charging the monster.

Garnet began to attack the beast with all her fury, as fast as she could, and finally she hit it in the stomach, but suddenly it grabbed her gauntlet and lifted her in the air, the beast raised its claws, ready to strike when… a large rock hit its head, making the beast scream in pain.

"Not so easy to take me down you dumb ass huh?!" Amethyst shouted angrily, charging the beast, tearing its arm with her whip, making it release Garnet from its grip.

The monster held its arm and turned to Amethyst, its eyes became red fissures as it began to walk towards her.

"Wanna fight big guy?!" Amethyst yelled as she began to attack the beast.

Pearl and Garnet began to rush towards Amethyst, who was trying to dodge all of the monster slashing attacks, it was really hard however since Amethyst wasn't as fast as Pearl or Garnet. When they reached her…Amethyst made a fatal error, she tried to attack the monster using her whip…the beast saw its opportunity and grabbed her whip again…this time however…the beast didn't threw Amethyst anywhere…it just smashed her into the ground and then began to hit her repeatedly.

"No! Leave her alone!" Steven shouted as he began to rush towards Amethyst.

"Amethyst!" Pearl yelled as she aimed to the beast's head and threw her spear at it.

The spear made its way to the monster's head and got stuck into it, causing the beast to scream in pain.

"Finally…" Garnet said, smiling slightly, but that smile faded away quickly.

"Garnet…why doesn't it retreat into his gem? WHY IS IT STILL ALIVE?!" Pearl screamed, as she saw that a few moments passed, but the beast was still there.

And Pearl's horror grew as she saw that after some moments, the beast took out from its head the spear. The monster looked at Pearl's spear with anger, then…a terrifying smile grew on its face as it looked at Pearl for an instant, and then at Amethyst. It all happened in a moment…the beast took out Amethyst from the ground and then… it stabbed her from side to side with Pearl's spear.

"NOOOOO!" Steven screamed as he reached Pearl, who had both of her hands on her mouth and tears in her eyes, and Garnet, who was gritting her teeth.

The monster began to laugh as it released Amethyst form its grasp. Amethyst got up from the ground, the pain was unbearable, she looked at Pearl, Garnet and Steven with tears in hear eyes and then…as she stretched her arm towards her friends, she disappeard into clouds, leaving her gemstone on the ground.

"DAMNED MONSTER!" Pearl yelled as she ran towards the monster and attacked it with all her strenght, with all her rage, with all her despair. Garnet did the same but then she noticed that Steven wasn't hiding anymore, he was running towards Pearl.

"NO STEVEN! COME BACK!" Garnet yelled.

Steven picked up Amethyst's gemstone and put it in his pocket as Pearl noticed him, assuming an horrified expression.

"STEVEN! GET OUT OF HERE!" Pearl shouted as she dodged an upcoming attack.

"NO! I WANT TO HELP! I DON'T WANT TO LOOSE YOU TOO!" Steven yelled at Pearl with tears running down his cheecks. Pearl's expression softened as Garnet reached them.

"We have to leave! It's too dangerous for Steven!" Garnet shouted as she reached Pearl and Steven.

Steven looked at the monster, he couldn't believe that such a horrible creature could exist, but there was something more…something familiar in that monster…but he couldn't think about it because as the gems decided to leave, the monster rush towards them and jumped over them. Suddenly…Steven summoned his protective bubble and as the monster touched it, its red eyes became wide. There was a loud explosion and a blinding light, a loud scream of pain could be heard. When Steven opened his eyes, he realized that he, Pearl and Garnet had left the battlefield. Pearl had Steven under her arm and she was running through the forest with Garnet on her side.

"Where's the monster?!" Steven asked looking behind.

"When the light began to fade we were already running through the forest, but I'm sure it couldn't have survived, thank you Steven…" Garnet replied, smiling slightly at Steven.

"Look!" Steven yelled, as he began to see the warp pad.

Pearl had tears in her eyes but she began to smile, seeing that their safety was very close. So she began to run faster and as she reached the warp pad she kneeled down and hugged Steven.

"We're safe now Steven…we're safe" Pearl whispered to Steven.

"Pearl…" Steven asked, starting to tremble…

"What?" Pearl replied, with her face still buried in Steven's hair.

"Where is Garnet?"


	8. Chapter 8: Despair

**CHAPTER 8: DESPAIR**

"Pearl…" Steven began to tremble as he raised his head and noticed that Garnet wasn't on the warp pad with them.

"What is it Steven?" Pearl asked, with her face still buried in Steven's hair.

"Where's Garnet?" Steven asked, breaking free from Pearl's embrace, much to her surprise, looking around frenetically.

"What?" Pearl asked, having not yet realized what Steven had just asked.

"Where's Garnet?!" Steven shouted, still looking around in order to spot Garnet.

When Pearl realized what Steven had said and noticed that Garnet wasn't there with them, her eyes grew wide as she assumed an expression made of pure terror. Pearl stood up, summoned her spear and placed her hand on Steven's shoulder as she began to speak…

"Steven…go home…now…" Pearl said as she stepped off from the warp pad and began to walk towards the forest's entrance.

"What?!" Steven yelled, disconcerted.

"Steven…I won't repeat myself…go…home…now!" Pearl shouted, she knew that Steven only wanted to help and that she would have hurt Steven's feelings, but she couldn't permit him to get hurt like Amethyst, the situation had become far too dangerous…

"But…but…I…I just want to…" Steven sobbed slightly as he took one step towards Pearl.

"Why do you always have to contradict us?! Go home!" Pearl shouted as she turned to Steven, with nothing more than anger on her face. Pearl was losing control, the loss of Amethyst, the fight with the nearly undefeatable monster, the disappearance of Garnet, it was too much for her to bear. Pearl realized what she had just said and put her hand on her mouth, with tears forming in her eyes, sadness, fear and rage made her say what she would have never said, especially to Steven, who just wanted to protect people he loved…just like Rose.

"Steven…I…" Pearl began to speak but she was cut off by Steven.

"Fine!" Steven shouted angrily, as the beam of light appeared and faded away quickly, leaving no one on the warp pad.

"I'm sorry Steven…please forgive me…" Pearl whispered as she turned around and began to rush towards the forest's entrance. 'How is it possible for a corrupted gem not to retire in its gem after all those injuries?! It's…it's impossibile! If Steven hadn't been there…we…' Pearl stopped thinking when she saw someone standing in front of the forest's entrance…it was Garnet…Pearl began to run faster, a smile began to grow on her face as she realized that her friend was still alive.

"Oh my…thank godness you're ok…" Pearl sighed in relief as she walked towards Garnet.

"P…Pearl…" Garnet whispered as she stretched her arm towards Pearl, who stopped moving and looked puzzled.

"P…Pearl…r…run…" Garnet let her arm down as she lowered her head.

Pearl took a step towards Garnet, but she stopped immediately as she noticed something terrible…five…black…claws…began to rise from Garnet's chest. Suddenly she was lifted in the air and as she whispered again to run away, she disappeared into clouds, leaving her gemstones on the ground. From the darkness of the forest… the beast began to emerge.

"No…NOOOO!" Pearl screamed as she realized that the monster they thought they had defeated…was still alive.

The beast had lost all of its fur and had burning marks all over its black skin…but it was still breathing. Pearl began to rush towards the monster and began to attack it with all her rage, but even if the monster was badly injured, it managed to dodge all her attacks. Suddenly the beast grabbed Pearl's spear and punched her right in her stomach, making her fly towards a huge tree and smashing into it. The monster began to walk slowly towards her. Pearl tried to get up but as soon as she managed to get on her feet, she immediately fell on the ground. She felt very weak, she knew that she couldn't have won against her enemy, but she would have never escaped, not from the monster that took Amethyst and Garnet away from her. The beast was going to reach her when she heard a familiar voice…

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Pearl turned around and saw that Steven was running towards her.

"STEVEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Pearl shouted as the beast turned around and looked at Steven, who was running towards them.

Steven didn't answer as he continued to run towards Pearl, the monster began to walk towards him as Pearl began to limp towards Steven.

"STEVEN! RUN AWAY!" Pearl screamed.

"I…WON'T…LEAVE YOU!" Steven yelled as his gem began to glow bright, suddenly he summoned his shield and threw it at the monster. The monster didn't expect that, in fact the shield made its way towards its head, and hit it, knocking the beast to the ground. Pearl reached it and as the beast tried to get up, Pearl jumped on its back and stabbed it with her spear. There was silence for some moments, the monster looked at the white blade that was coming out from its chest…then...suddenly…it got up, making Pearl fall to the ground.

"WHY DON'T YOU DIE?!" Pearl screamed as the beast turned to her and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her up in the air.

Pearl had tears running down her cheeks, she failed… she failed in protecting her friends…but the worst thing, that made her feel nothing but despair, was the fact that she failed in protecting the person she loved most…Steven. Pearl closed her eyes and waited for the beast to strike.

"I'm sorry Rose… I wasn't… strong enough…" Pearl whispered.

A few moments passed… but nothing happened. Pearl opened her eyes and saw that the monster was just staring at her. Pearl looked at the beast with wide eyes, 'Wha…what's happening?' Pearl thought as the monster held her closer to its face and looked right in her eyes; she was petrified by fear… in those red…soulless eyes, she could see nothing but rage, hate and despair…then, after a few moments, the beast released Pearl from its grasp. As she fell on the ground, Pearl saw Steven, who was running towards her; as he reached her, he embraced her tightly, with tears in his eyes. Pearl smiled weakly, then, they both turned to the monster, it was just staring at them, and after some moments, something happened… Pearl could see the beast's gem becoming red again and its eyes becoming black, as they were before the battle. Suddenly, the monster released a scream of pain, before collapsing to the ground…and finally…disappearing into clouds.

"Pearl…are you ok?" Steven asked, as he looked at Pearl, who was speechless.

"What…what has just happened?" Pearl asked, looking at the beast's red gem with wide eyes, as she tried to get up.

As Pearl stood up, her legs began to tremble and she fell on her knees. Steven went in front of her and hugged her. He could see that she was weak and injured, so he spat on his hands and touched all of her injuries. But even if Pearl was now fully healed, she was still on her knees, staring at the ground.

"Pearl…we…we won! Why are you sad?" Steven asked, giving her an insecure smile.

"It…it could have killed you… it could have taken you away from me… and… and I couldn't do anything to stop it… I… wasn't strong enough to protect you…I let down everyone… Rose would hate me for this…" Pearl looked down, gritting her teeth.

"No! Pearl, you know that's not true!" Steven said, taking Pearl's face in his hands.

"You…did your best…and…" Steven was cut off by Pearl, who embraced him, leaving him without breath.

The two hugged each other for some minutes, then they stood up. Steven took Garnet's gemstones from the ground while Pearl bubbled the beast's gem, then they both walked towards the warp pad. Steven looked at Pearl and saw that there was something wrong with her.

"Pearl, are you ok?" Steven asked, worried about her.

Pearl nodded, without looking at Steven… she wasn't ok, she could still see Amethyst and Garnet looking at her… stretching their arms towards her… asking help… she could hear their voices and she could still see… those horrible… red soulless eyes staring at her. Pearl closed her eyes and sighed as the beam of light appeard and faded away. When it faded away, a dark figure figure began to emerge from the shadows… and this time… it wasn't flickering or limping anymore…and as it stepped on the warp pad… it began to speak…and this time…its horrible voice wasn't distorted anymore and could be clearly heard…

_"__We will meet very soon Steven… and after that I'll have devoured you… your friends will have to learn how to live in a world without compassion, without happiness, without love, without…light…and this time…she won't ruin my plans…"_

**So here ends chapter eight, I hope you have liked it, sorry for the delay guys… It seems that the monster is now complete, but how? And why did the beast spare Pearl? And who is the 'she' the monster is talking about? Oh man, so many questions… but don't worry guys! All the questions will be answered in the next chapters, they will be out soon, I promise. Thanks again for all the reviews, favs and follows, and see you in chapter nine! **


	9. Chapter 9: Hate and shadows

**CHAPTER 9: HATE AND SHADOWS**

The beam of light faded away as Steven began to walk towards the couch, taking out from his pockets Amethyst's and Garnet's gemstones. Releasing a sigh, he looked at them with a sad smile on his face, then he turned to Pearl, who was in front of the temple's door. The door began to open as Steven began to talk.

"Pearl?" Steven called her before she could disappear into her room. Pearl began to turn around, forcing herself to smile. Even if she didn't want Steven to get worried for her, it was really hard for her not to look distraught after all what had happened.

"Yes Steven?" Pearl asked, giving him a slight smile.

"Are…are you ok?" Steven looked at her with a concerned expression. Pearl closed her eyes and released a small sigh.

"Yes Steven…" Pearl answered, turning around, starting to enter her room.

"Do you want me to stay here with you?" Steven asked, he could feel that something was wrong with her. Pearl stopped but she didn't turn around this time.

"No…I…I just want to be alone for a while…" Pearl said, as she disappeard into her room.

Steven sat on the couch, placing Amethyst's and Garnet's gemstones on a pillow. His phone began to ring, he looked at it and saw that Connie was calling him. He smiled slightly as he answered the call.

"Hi Connie…" Steven said, trying to hide the sadness of his voice, failing in doing that.

"Hi Steven… why that sad tone? Oh no… don't tell me Amethyst and Pearl argued again…" Connie asked, snorting.

"No…it's not that…" Steven said as he looked at the gemstones on the pillow near to him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Connie asked him.

"Well… we fought a monster and it made Amethyst and Garnet retreat into their gems, it could have made the same with Pearl, but it didn't, and Pearl now feels bad because she thinks that if the monster had made her retreat into her gem, it could have killed me next, and that my mom would have hated her for not being strong enough to protect me…" Steven said as tears began to form into his eyes.

"Steven, she wouldn't hate her…" Connie said in a reassuring tone of voice.

Suddenly, Steven began to hear some interferences and as they faded away, he could hear Connie speaking again, but with a distorted voice.

"She would hate…you…" Connie whispered.

"Wha…What?!" Steven couldn't believe that Connie had said such a thing to him. "Connie…what are you talking about?"

"She would hate you… you hadn't been strong enough to protect your friends… they all had faith in you… and you let them down…you are not a crystal gem…you are just a weak coward…" Connie replied coldly.

"C…Connie…" Steven had tears running down his cheeks.

"Don't call me anymore… you are not special… and I can have better companionship then the one of a weak, stupid, fat boy like you…" Connie said, then she closed the call.

Steven couldnt' believe what had happened.

"Connie…" Steven sobbed as he tried to recall her, but no one answered his call.

Steven began to rush towards the door and ran down the stairs, reaching the beach. He ran as fast as he could towards his father's car wash, he needed his help, maybe if he could have reached Connie's house, he could have talked to her. When he reached it, he heard some noises coming from his van. He rushed behind it and began to call his dad.

"Dad! Dad, please I need your help!" Steven cried as he began to knock the back of the van.

"What do you want Steven?…" Greg talked with a strange voice but Steven didn't notice it as he continued to talk.

"Dad, I need to go to Connie's house! I need to talk to her! Please can you bring me there?!" Steven waited for an answer.

"Go…away…I don't want to see you ever again" Greg answered, leaving Steven puzzled.

"D…dad? Why…why are you…" Tears began to form in Steven's eyes as he heard those words coming from his father's mouth.

"You are a monster…you took my Rose away from me…she didn't want to leave…she didn't know she had to die to give you life…if she knew about that she would have never wanted you…we could have had a happy life together…but you ruined everything…go…away!" Greg screamed, as Steven ran away, sobbing loudly.

Steven rushed towards the temple, he had to talk with Pearl, he couldn't understand what was going on, the people he loved most… hated him? He ran up the stairs and entered the house. He began to call Pearl loudly, but no one came. Slowly, he walked towards his bed and sat down, wiping some tears. Suddenly, Steven heard a voice coming from behind him…and as he turned around, Steven screamed at the top of his lungs.

_"__Why so sad?" _

A dark, tall figure was standing in front of the bed, looking at Steven with its red eyes. As Steven screamed, he ran down the stairs towards the temple's door. As he reached it, he saw the dark figure walking towards him.

_"__No more escape little Steven…" _

The dark figure was now standing in front of Steven, and as it stretched its horrible, dark hand towards him, Steven closed his eyes and screamed.

"PEARL!" Steven yelled as he covered his face with his hands.

Suddenly, the temple's door began to open, Pearl came out with her spear in her hands and saw that Steven was crouched down to the ground and was hiding his face with his hands.

"Steven! Are you ok?! I heard you screaming!" Pearl asked him in a worried tone, looking around the house.

"IT'S HERE!" Steven yelled, still hiding his face.

"What is here?" Pearl asked, assuming a perplexed expression.

As Steven opened his eyes, he saw that the dark figure had dissapeard, he looked at Pearl with tears in his eyes and began to speak.

"It was here! The monster that came from under my bed! It's real! It was going to catch me!" As Steven said this, Pearl closed her eyes and sighed louldy.

"Steven…please...I explained this to you" Pearl was cut off by Steven who began yell at her.

"Pearl please you have to believe me! I was here and Connie called me…she…she said she didn't want to see me again so I went to dad and asked him to take me to her but he said to go away and that he…that he hated me…and then I came here and…and that monster was standing in front of my bed!" Steven yelled with tears in his eyes.

Pearl's expression softened as she heard this, she kneeled down and put her hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Steven…you know that Connie and Greg would have never said something like that to you…you just fell asleep on the couch and had a bad dream…" Pearl said as Steven looked at her with an angry expression.

"WHY DON'T YOU BELIEVE ME?!" Steven screamed as he slapped Pearl's hand.

Pearl stood up, with wide eyes, then, from a sad one, her expression changed into an enraged one, she couldn't stand at this anymore.

"Steven! Why can't you understand that you just had a bad dream! Just…a…nightmare…it is not the reality! Are you so childish not to understand the difference?!" Pearl yelled, but as she said the last words she covered her mouth with both her hands, she couldn't believe what she had just said, she couldn't bear the situation anymore, rage, hate, dispair, made her say what she would have never said to Steven.

"You…you…don't care…about…me?" Steven looked at the ground, tears streaming down his face.

"Steven…" Pearl began to talk, but then, something happened, Pearl's eyes became wide as her body began to tremble, Steven raised his head and looked at Pearl.

"P…Pearl?" Steven said, as he took a step back. Pearl's body stopped trembling and as she looked at Steven, she closed her eyes and began to titter.

"Of course…I don't care…"

**Hi everyone! I'm back and I want to tell you that I'm very sorry for the delay guys, I have been really busy with school and stuff, so please forgive me. Anyway here ends chapter 9, I hope you have liked it, thanks again for all the follows, favs and reviews and…well…see you in chapter 10 and this time I promise it will be out very soon (sounds familiar). **


	10. Chapter 10: A world of darkness

**CHAPTER 10: A WORLD OF DARKNESS**

"Wha…what?" Steven couldn't believe what Pearl had just said to him; Connie, his dad, and now even Pearl, didn't care about him. Steven began to step back with tears in his eyes as Pearl, still snickering, began to walk towards him.

"Y…you don't…care about me?" Steven asked, hoping that Pearl would have answered that she loved him, hoping that all what was happening was just a bad dream and that, shortly, Pearl would have woken him up, hugging him, telling him that he just had a nightmare… but it wasn't a nightmare… it was reality, and Steven couldn't face this reality, he couldn't face all this hate, all this dispair… not alone.

"Steven… of course I don't care about you… why should I care about someone… like you?!" As Pearl reached Steven, her laugh stopped and her voice became full of anger, then, suddenly… she slapped him, knocking him to the ground.

"P…Pearl?" Steven spoke with a tone of voice made of fear and dismay as he got up.

"You…you destroyed my life… YOU DESTROYED OUR LIVES! We were so happy when Rose was with us, but then…but then you… YOU CAME AND RUINED EVERYTHING! I swear I'll never forgive you for what you have done to us, for what you have done to her, I will hate you 'till the end of my life, and so will do Amethyst and Garnet… SHE WAS EVERYTHING FOR US, SHE WAS EVERYTHING FOR ME…AND YOU…KILLED…HER!" Pearl shouted as she summoned her spear.

Steven got up screaming, he rushed towards the door and opened it as fast as he could, then he began to run down the stairs and reached the beach, he had to run away, even if there would have been no one willing to help him, which, sadly, was now his only belief; he could only think about the people he loved most breaking his heart, and now, for the first time in his life, Steven could feel only rage, hate and despair… his joy, his love, his…light…was no more with him… and when Steven stopped running, breathing heavily, and saw the dark figure standing in front of him, stretching his long arm towards him, grabbing him by the neck and lifting him in the air… Steven could see nothing but one thing… darkness.

**Meanwhile:**

Pearl opened her eyes, she felt very weak, as she tried to get up, she fell on her knees, she could feel that something terrible had happened, but she couldn't understand what, she could remember her scolding Steven, asking him if he was so childish not to understand what was real and what was not. At this thought her eyes began to water, but she couldn't remember anything about what happened after that moment.

"What have I done Steven?" Pearl said as she got up, she looked around in order to spot Steven, but she couldn't see him anywhere.

"Steven!" Pearl yelled.

"Steven where are you?!" Pearl began to limp around, searching frenetically for Steven everywhere when suddenly… her eyes widened as she heard Steven screaming. Pearl began to walk as fast as she could towards the house's door as she heard Steven's scream coming from the beach. She rushed down the stairs and as she reached the beach… her heart stopped beating. She saw a dark…tall figure… holding Steven by the neck… lifting him in the air.

"STEVEN!" Pearl shouted as she summoned her spear and began to rush towards the dark creature.

The dark creature turn around and saw Pearl rushing towards him, with a white spear in her hands, but even when Pearl was a few meters away from it and raised her spear, ready to strike, it didn't move away, it just stared at Pearl the whole time, and when her spear came down to its head, nothing happened, Pearl's spear got stuck into the ground, it didn't hit the creature, it just passed through it, like if she tried to hit the air.

"W…what?!" Pearl said as the dark figure let Steven go and grabbed her by the neck, lifting her in the air. Pearl couldn't fight back, as the creature grabbed her, she felt all of her energy vanishing in one moment, and when she opened her eyes and meet the gaze of the dark figure, which was staring at her with its red, wicked, soulless eyes, her expression of pain changed into one of pure terror.

"Y…you…" Pearl whispered, she remembered those eyes and she had hoped that she would have never had to see them again.

_"__Oh Pearl, I'm so glad you remember me and our little…playtime…" _The dark figure said, chuckling.

"How…how is this even possible?! We…we defeated you!" Pearl cried as she struggled to get free from the creature's grasp.

_"__Pearl, Pearl, Pearl… so naive… that creature was just a simple shell…"_

"Wha…what are you talking about?" Pearl's eyes became wide as she assumed an expression made of confusion and fear, she couldn't understand what the dark figure was talking about.

_"__When I came to this world, I was…still too weak…too much light…to much of his light, and not enough hate, not enough rage, not enough despair, I had to become stronger, so I took possession of a strong body and killed your friends…"_

"But…why did you spare me?" Pearl asked, still puzzled.

_"__Because without you… my dear… now I wouldn't be here…"_

"No… you are lying! I would have never helped you!" Pearl couldn't believe what the creature was saying, she couldn't have helped it hurting the person she loved most.

_"__You are right… you would have never helped me… consciously… I killed your friends… to make you and Steven feel the despair that I needed to become stronger… to be able to live by myself in this world and not like a parasite… but… his light… the light that came from the love that he felt for you… it was still too bright for me… I couldn't even touch him… but then… when he got scared by me… and you didn't believe him and you scolded him… you let out all your rage and despair and in that moment… when you made him think that you didn't care about him… I became strong enough to take possession… of your body…"_

Pearl couldn't believe what the creature had just said to her, if only she had believed what Steven was trying to tell her, maybe now they wouldn't have been in this horrible situation. Then, a horrible thought came into Pearl's mind…

"Wha…what did you say to Steven while you were in me?" Pearl was frightened to know the answer.

_"__Oh, just that you hated him for having killed his mother…"_ The dark figure replied tittering, as tears began to stream down Pearl's face.

"YOU ARE A MONSTER! I SWEAR YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO US, FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE TO STEVEN!" Pearl cried as she tried to kick the creature, she loved Steven like a son and she could have never said such a horrible thing to him.

_"__Yes… hate me… it just make me stronger…"_ The dark figure whispered.

"Who… who… are… you?" Pearl was now sobbing loudly.

_"__Who I am has never been important… what I am… that is what you should be scared of… at the beginning I was nothing… I was no more than a whisper… a furtive movement caught with the corner of the eye… I didn't really exist… I needed someone to define me… and when she died and her light couldn't stop me anymore… you created me with your hate… you fed me with your rage… you made me strong with your despair… your dreariness had been my placenta… and showing nothing but hatred you have prevented light to pass through… and you gave me birth… I… am… Darkness."_ The dark figure let Pearl go and began to walk towards Steven.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Pearl tried to get up but she was too weak, she began to slouch towards Steven.

The creature kneeled down to Steven and gave Pearl a final look.

_"__Watch me…"_ The dark figure said, as it touched Steven's gem, disappearing into a cloud of black smoke.

Pearl reached Steven and pulled him into a tight embrace, she saw that he had his eyes closed so she began to call him loudly. After some moments Steven began to open his eyes.

"I… I'm… sorry… Pearl…" Steven whispered as something terrible began to happen, his eyes became completely black, his skin became gray and covered in black, pulsing, veins, then suddenly, Steven stopped breathing.

"STEVEN! STEVEN PLEASE ANSWER ME!" Pearl cried as she hold him tighter.

"I'm so sorry Steven, I made this to you… Please… Rose… forgive me…" Pearl whispered as she buried her face into Steven's hair, sobbing loudly.

**Somewhere in the darkness:**

Steven got up slowly, he opened his eyes and saw that around him there was nothing, just an endless darkness, he could barely see himself, thanks to a faint light coming from his gem. As he looked around, Steven began to hear a hellish laugh coming from the darkness. Afraid, Steven began to run away, but he couldn't see anything in front of him, and the more he tried to escape, the more that horrible laugh became louder and louder.

"Please… stop… let me go home!" Steven cried as he stopped running and fell on his knees, exhausted.

_"__You can't escape Steven, you are in my realm now… and now… finally… you will perish… and with you… the light that has been preventing me from swallowing this pathetic world for thousands of years" _The voice of the darkness said loudly.

"You… you won't win! My friends will save me and then they will defeat you!" Steven said as he got up.

_"__What friends? You have no friends… the gems, your little friend Connie, even your dad… they all hate you, they don't care about you, they won't save you, not now, nor ever, you are alone Steven… alone in this world of darkness."_ The voice of the darkness said, as Steven fell to the ground, as the light coming from his gem became more and more faint.

"Steven…" Suddenly Steven heard another voice, this time coming from behind him, but even if it wasn't the voice of the darkness, he refused to open his eyes.

"Go away… please… leave me alone!" Steven cried.

"I could never do that…" The voice replied in a soft tone.

Steven got up, then, slowly, frightened by what he could have seen, he turned around and opened his eyes… as he saw who was talking, his eyes began to water and a smile grew on his face, then, the voice of the darkness spoke again…

_"__Rose…" _


	11. Chapter 11: Light and Darkness

**CHAPTER 11: LIGHT AND DARKNESS**

"Please, leave me alone!" Steven shouted, crouched down to the ground, covering his face with his hands.

"I could never do that…" A familiar voice replied in a soft tone.

Steven got up and turned around, he took a big breath and slowly, frightened by what he could have seen, he opened his eyes, and when he saw who standing in front of him, his eyes began to water as a smile grew on his face. In front of him was standing a tall woman, with pink skin and long curly pink hair, she wore a long white dress that glowed bright in the darkness. As she smiled softly to Steven and kneeled down to him, he run up to her and hugged her as tight as he could.

"M…mom…" Steven said, sobbing between her arms, as she gently caressed his hair.

"Shhhh… don't worry Steven… I'm here Steven… I'm here…" Rose said as she buried her face in Steven's hair.

"I… I thought I could have never been able to see you, to speak to you, to hug you…" Steven said as Rose took gently his face between her hands.

"I have always been with you Steven, my little angel, even if you couldn't see me…" Rose said as she wiped the tears from Steven's cheeks.

_"__Rose…" _Suddenly, as the voice of the darkness began to speak, Rose's expression changed form a soft one to a serious one, and as she sighed and closed her eyes, she got up and looked towards two giant, bright, red eyes which began to form in the darkness.

_"__It's been a very long time…"_

"Mom… what is he talking about?" Steven asked, taking her hand with his own.

From the darkness a sick laugh began to rise as Rose looked at Steven, trying to smile at his little child, who now was facing her old enemy. She knew that someday, Darkness would have returned, but she had hoped that Steven could have kept him in the shadows, but, after all, he was just a child and his love, his light, couldn't bear all that hate, all that rage, all that despair, not yet.

_"__Children will always have to pay for their parent's sins…"_

"Steven…" Rose kneeled down to Steven and put her hands on his shoulders.

"Mom, what is he talking about? Who is he? Where are we? I want to go home!" Steven began to panic but he calmed down when Rose embraced him.

"I'm sorry Steven, this is my fault…" Rose replied, keeping his eyes low.

"Wha…what?" Steven's eyes widened at his mother's words.

"Steven… long time ago, before your birth, a… creature… was born in the darkness, a creature that was given life by the hatred between gems, a creature made of shadows, anger and sadness, which didn't know love or compassion. His only desire was to swallow all the world into his darkness, but one thing prevented him to do that… me, because my love, my compassion, my… light, was far too bright for him to bear, but when I found myself in front of the creature, defeated, crouched down to ground, sobbing, I made a fatal mistake… I had compassion…" Rose sighed and closed her eyes, then she continued.

"I let the creature run into the shadows, where I had hoped it would have remained forever… perhaps grateful to be still alive, perhaps changed in some way… but I was wrong… I'm sorry Steven… I hope you can forgive me" Rose looked directly into Steven's eyes, believing that he would have had an expression of disgust on his face, but much to her surprise Steven hugged her and began to talk…

"Mom, this isn't your fault! You had compassion for a creature that everyone believed to be evil, you had hope for him, you thought that you could have changed him… it's not a mistake to want to help poor and lost souls, it's not a mistake to have faith in them…" Steven said as he released Rose from his embrace and looked at her in her eyes.

"Steven…" Rose began to talk as tears began to stream down her face, but they weren't tears of sadness, no, they were tears of joy, joy that came from the fact that, finally, she had been able to see how much of a wonderful, compassionate, kind little boy had his son become. But as she began to talk, she was suddenly cut off by that horrible voice that began to resonate in the darkness.

_"__Enough… move away… the boy is mine…"_

"Darkness only posses itself and its lies… you won't touch my son…" Rose said, as she got up, facing bravely the darkness.

_"__And who's going to stop me? You? You will protect him? If you couldn't protect him in his world… what makes you think that you'll be able to protect him here?…" _

As the demoniac voice stopped talking, countless, dark hands began to emerge from the darkness, moving towards Steven… but as soon as they were going to grab Steven, Rose stretched her arms towards them and suddenly… a bright, pink barrier formed around them, preventing the countless hands to grab his son.

_"__You… WHO ARE YOU?! A GHOST?! YOU CAN'T PROTECT HIM! YOU DIED! YOU ARE NOTHING MORE THAN FADED MEMORY!"_ The voice of the darkness screamed, as the dark hands began to hit Rose's barrier harder and harder.

Sadly, even if they were safe at the moment, Rose seemed to become weaker and weaker as the dark hands kept hitting her shield. Suddenly, Rose kneeled down to the ground, closing her eyes, gritting her teeth as her barrier began to become smaller and smaller, she knew that her shield wouldn't have resisted much longer.

"Steven…" Rose began to talk as she turned to her son, who had tears in his eyes.

"M…mom? A…are you ok?" Steven asked as Rose wiped his tears.

"Steven… I can't… defeat Darkness… not… I'm my… state… you have to defeat it… you have… to do… what I was… not… strong enough… to do…" Rose said as she tried to smile at Steven.

"I can't mom! It's too powerful!" Steven cried as he kept looking around frenetically, being able only to see countless dark hands hitting his mother's barrier, whose light began to become less bright.

"Yes… you can… I know you can…" Rose said giving Steven a caress on his cheek.

"How?!" Steven cried.

"Love… Steven… it is… love… only love can… stop… darkness… love is our brightest light… and as long as we will love and… we will be loved, darkness will never… get… rid… of us…" Rose whispered as she smiled weakly.

_"__ENOUGH!"_

As the demoniac voice resounded in the darkness, the dark hands began to rise up, forming a giant, dark hand, and as it was formed, it came down, hitting Rose's barrier. As soon as the great hand of Darkness hit her barrier, it began to crack. Rose fell to the ground, exhausted, as her barrier began to fade away.

"MOM!" Steven cried as he kneeled down and placed his hand under her mother head, slowly rising it up. Rose began to open her eyes, she was now strengthless, she placed her hand on Steven's cheek as she smiled weakly.

"Mom… I can't… defeat him… I can't face all of this…" Steven said as tears began to stream down his face, falling and wetting Rose's face.

"You… can… Steven… there are so many people that love you… your friends… Greg… Pearl, Amethyst and Garnet… they love you… and… they will never… leave you… alone… never…" Rose whispered.

"They… they said… they hate me… because… I took you away from them…." Steven said trying not to meet her mother's gaze, but as he finished talking, Rose took Steven's hand with her own.

"They could never hate you Steven… you know that… they always loved you… I could feel it… they are… your family… they will never stop loving you… caring for you… they will always be with you… I'll be always with you… I love you Steven… I always loved you… even before giving you birth… even if I knew that I would have disappeared… and I would do that again… because I knew that you would have become something wonderful… something extraordinary… we all love you Steven…and I'll be always proud… of you… always…" Rose hugged Steven tightly but then… her grip became weaker… she closed her eyes and suddenly… her body began to fade away… becoming rose's petals… carried away by the wind.

"MOM! NO! DON'T LEAVE ME!" Steven cried as he managed to take one of the petals before it could disappear into darkness.

"I love you too… mom" Steven whispered, looking at the small, beautiful petal he had in his hand, before turning around to face the eyes of the darkness.

_ "__You are alone now…"_

But as the voice of the darkness spoke, a faint, pink light began to brighten under Steven's t-shirt. Steven looked at those red, wicked eyes, but not with a scared expression, he wasn't scared of darkness anymore. Then, a sick laugh began to emerge from the darkness as its voice spoke again…

_"__Is that your light? Is that your love? What can a little light do in a world of darkness?"_

**Ok guys, here ends chapter 11, will Steven be strong enough to do what his mother couldn't do? Or will he succumb to Darkness? I hope you liked this chapter, thanks again for all the reviews, fallows and favs, they are really important for me so thank you a lot, I never expected my story to become so appreciated, also I want you to know that, sadly, this story is getting to its end, but don't be worried, it will be a great ending and after that, I have something in mind that you might like... oh, one last thing, was this chapter touching for you? Let me know in the reviews. Well, see you in the next chapter!**


	12. Chapter 12: A world of light

**FINAL CHAPTER: A WORLD OF LIGHT**

"Steven… no… please… I can't… I can't pass through this another time… I can't make it without you…" Pearl whispered as she hugged Steven's body, almost lifeless.

Suddenly, Pearl began to hear some footsteps coming from behind her.

"PEARL!" A voice called her from behind.

As Pearl turned around she saw Amethyst, who was walking towards her, but as she noticed that Pearl had Steven's body between her arms, with grey skin and covered in black veins, she stopped, with a horrified expression on her face. Then, she began to rush towards Pearl…

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Amethyst cried as she kneeled down in front of Pearl.

"It… it was real…" Pearl whispered.

"What was real?!" Amethyst shouted as she looked at Steven and her eyes began to water.

"The creature that came from under his bed!" Pearl cried as she looked at Amethyst with an expression of anger, that suddenly changed into a more soft one as she saw that Amethyst was almost crying.

"Wha…what?" Amethyst couldn't believe what Pearl was telling her.

"It's all my fault… I made it… it was born from my anger… from my despair… and I didn't believe Steven… and now I can't… now I can't help him… and he isn't breathing… and " Pearl was sobbing loudly, she was panicking, but suddenly, much to her surprise she felt something, she opened her eyes and saw that Amethyst was hugging her by the side.

"A…Amethyst?" Pearl said in astonishment.

"It's… it's not your fault… Pearl… I didn't believe Steven too… maybe if I had believed him… maybe now…" Amethyst closed her eyes and began to sob.

"No Amethyst… I…I should have been more permissive with Steven, he is a crystal gem and he needs to stay with us, even during our mission, that is what Rose would have wanted… but I was… too stupid to understand that…" Pearl said, gritting her teeth.

"Pearl! You are not stupid, you just care about Steven in a different way, you have always been the most fond of Rose, and when she… disappeared, you… you saw Steven like… like a son… it's normal for you not to want him to be in danger!" Amethyst said.

Pearl opened her eyes and looked in Amethyst's own eyes for a moment, then, all of the sudden, she embraced her with one arm, keeping Steven near to her with the other one.

"I'm so sorry Amethyst, for all what I have done to you, for all the things I have said to you, I never wanted to hurt you, when Rose left us I thought that we should have had to face danger being more careful, all the times I scolded you, it was because I wanted you to be careful… because I care so much about you… I couldn't imagine my life without you…" Pearl said as Amethyst looked at her in the eyes, then, she embraced her as tight as she could. She had always hoped that Pearl didn't really hate her, because even if Amethyst had never shown it to Pearl, she always cared a lot about her, but after what had happened between the two, she thought that she would have never heard those words coming from Pearl's mouth, and when she heard those words, her heart melted as all of her hate and anger faded away, being replaced by that love she had always hoped that Pearl would have shown to her, one day.

"Oh Pearl…" Amethyst said.

"I…I love you Amethyst…" Pearl whispered as the two embraced each other and Steven.

"I love you too Pearl…" Amethyst said.

"Please, Steven come back…" Amethyst and Pearl said, as their tears, streaming down their faces and falling down, began to wet Steven's gem.

**In the darkness:**

_"__Is that your light? Is that your love? What can a little light do in a world of darkness?"_

But as Darkness began to laugh manically, a light began to emerge from the darkness, and as Steven looked at it, he saw Pearl and Amethyst, they were hugging each other and they were crying, they were asking him to come back, they were telling him that they couldn't go on without him, because they loved him too much, and as Steven saw and heard all of this, a smile grew on his face, then, he turned around, and facing the eyes of the darkness, Steven, smiling, answered its question, as the light coming from his gem… became brighter and brighter.

"It can be seen by everyone!" Steven shouted as those red, wicked eyes became wide.

_"__No… no… this is impossible! They hated each other… THEY HATED EACH OTHER! YOUR LIGHT WAS GONE… IT FADED AWAY! IT CAN'T BE… SO… BRIGHT… NO… NO… NOOOOOO!"_

Steven covered his eyes as his light became dazzling, then, after some moments, he heard the creature's scream of agony slowly fading away. Steven opened his eyes, and instead of a dark abyss, he was now in the middle of a wonderful garden, but suddenly, he felt very weak . He lay down to the ground, he couldn't keep his eyes open, but a moment before falling asleep… he heard a soft and familiar voice and a kiss on his forehead.

"I'm so proud of you Steven… remember… I'll be always be you…" The voice said, as Steven, smiling, fell asleep.

"Pearl… you can… let him go…" Amethyst said as she got up with tears in her eyes, watching Pearl, who was still embracing tightly Steven's body.

"No…" Pearl whispered, not moving.

"Pearl… please… let me just take him to his bed…" Amethyst said as she put her hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"NO!" Pearl shouted, after what had happened, she didn't want to go on, she couldn't live without Steven, she just wanted to stay there, holding him, forever…

"Pearl… look…" Amethyst began to talk but was cut off.

"I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE HIM!" Pearl shouted with her eyes still closed.

"No Pearl! I mean look at Steven!" Amethyst said as she kneeled down and a smile grew on her face.

Steven began to breath again, his eyes were closed and his skin began to become pink as it was before, the black veins disappeared and slowly, Steven opened his eyes.

"P…Pearl…A…Amethyst?" Steven weakly muttered.

"Steven!" Pearl and Amethyst cried as they embraced him as tight as they could.

"G… guys… you are soffocating me…" Steven whispered as the two gems, giggling, loosened their grip.

"Steven are you alright?! What happened?! Where is that horrible creature?!" Pearl frenetically asked, checking Steven in order to spot any possible bruise.

"Pearl… I'm fine… really… and… for what concernes Darkness… well… it's gone… forever…" Steven said as Pearl's eyes became wide. She knew that Steven was strong, but the fact that he had been able to defeat something like that creature, it was extraordinary.

"You kicked his black butt didn't you?" Amethyst asked as Steven giggled and Pearl sighed.

"Amethyst… Steven, how… how have you been able to defeat him?" Pearl asked.

Steven looked at Pearl smiling, then, he looked at his hand, it was still clenched into a fist, and as he opened it, he saw the little, beautiful rose's petal, it was still with him… Pearl looked at that as her eyes became wide.

"R…Rose?" Pearl muttered.

Steven looked at Pearl, with a few tears in his eyes and nodded.

"Wait… what?" Amethyst asked, not understanding what Steven and Pearl meant.

"Mom… she protected me from Darkness and before… disappearing… she told me that she loved me and that she will be always proud of me… she told me that you are my family… that you'll never leave me alone… and when I saw you in the dark I… I just felt so happy to see you not arguing anymore but hugging and saying that you loved me… and my light appeared and… destroyed Darkness…" Steven said keeping his eyes on the rose's petal.

"Rose…" Amethyst said, smiling, wiping a small tear.

"Oh Steven… I'm so proud of you…" Pearl said embracing Steven again.

That horrible nightmare had come to its end, Steven met Connie, who was very worried because she tried many times to call him back, not receiving any answer. He explained what had happened and as he finished his story, Connie hugged him, saying that she could have never hated him, that she cared a lot about him, and the same happened with his dad, more happy than ever to understand that Rose would have been always with their son, protecting and loving him. After all the tears and laughters that Steven and his family shared that day, bed time came, Steven was ready to go to his bedroom. Before reaching the stairs, Steven saw the temple's door opening.

"Garnet!" Steven yelled in excitement, as Garnet walked towards him and kneeled down to him.

"Steven… Pearl and Amethyst told me about all what had happened… I'm very proud of you… and your mother would be proud too…" Garnet said as she smiled to Steven.

"I know…" Steven said, looking a little bit sad.

"Remember… she will be always with you…" Garnet said, getting up, walking to the temple's door and disappearing into her room.

Steven got in his bed, as Pearl reached him and hugged him, she was so happy that this nightmare had finally come to an end.

"Good night Steven…" Pearl whispered as she kissed his forehead.

Pearl began to walk down the stairs but then, she turned to Steven.

"Do…do you want me to let the lights on Steven?" Pearl asked.

Pearl and Steven looked at each other for some moments, then, Steven smiled to her.

"No Pearl, thank you…" Steven said, laying down, as Pearl smiled and turned off the lights.

Steven opened his hand and watched the small rose's petal, he didn't leave it the all day, and smiling, he closed his eyes.

"Good night mom…" Steven said as he fell asleep, not noticing the faint, pink light coming from his gem.

_"__Sweet dreams Steven…"_

̴ Fin ̴

**And this is the end guys, I hope you have liked my story as much as I liked to write it, with all the tears and laughters that I hope my story gave to you, I want to thank you for all your wonderful reviews, thanks for all the favs and follows, they really meant a lot for me, I hope that when my next story "Come back" will come out you'll read it and… well, see you in the next story, and remember, love is our brightest light and as long as we will love and we will be loved, darkness will never get rid of us. **


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